December 18, Life is Short

Today’s reading: Psalms 86-90

“Remember how fleeting is my life. For what futility you have created all humanity! Who can live and not see death, or who can escape the power of the grave?” - Psalm 89:47-48.

The psalmist was pouring his heart out to the Lord, burdened by the pressures of life and God’s seeming withdrawal of His presence from the writer’s situation. The psalmist was reminding the Lord, and perhaps himself, that his life was short, and God must help him to get free from the trouble so he could pursue God and God’s purpose without interference. Do you have that same mindset that leads to the same kind of prayers? Are you living like your life is short? Do you make the most of every day, and are you living in the urgency of this moment? Do you live like you are dying, which in a sense you are? Read these verses and then set goals for tomorrow and the coming year that are consistent with the truth of today’s verses:

However many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all. But let them remember the days of darkness, for there will be many. Everything to come is meaningless. You who are young, be happy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless (Ecclesiastes 11:8-10).